- THE UPPER ENGADINE IN 1914, 63 
palaeno. The road here goes on the right side of the glacier stream for 
some three miles before it crosses to the footpath which keeps to the 
left the whole five miles, until it passes the moraine which there almost 
closes the valley, only a narrow gorge containing the stream and the 
road communicates with the huge basin, into the southern half of which 
runs the Rosegg glacier and its twin the Glacier da Tschierva. For 
collecting the road is much the better, open as it is to the pastures of 
the western side and those of the neighbouring stream with the many 
marshy spots free from trees, whereas the path is mainly hedged by 
trees and bushes, with scarcely an open space. One noticed the con- 
trast of the two sides of this valley, that on the left being more or less 
thickly wooded a long way up, the other side almost bare. 
Generally speaking insects were by no means common. Lrebia 
tyndarus was perhaps the most abundant, usually rich in depth of 
colour with only a slight metallic green sheen on the forewings. The 
undersides of the forewings were very variable here, some were almost 
as dark as the coloration of the upperside, while others were quite licht, 
but none were noted as being banded. A small specimen only had the 
merest trace of an eye-spot, ab. caecodromus. Most specimens were 
bipupillate with one eyespot white-centered. Hrebia melampus was 
very varied in size and spotting of band of forewing. One specimen 
had no dots at all in the band of the upperside. Hrebia euryale was 
the only other Hrebia noticed, and that was, as noted elsewhere, very 
scarce this year. Coenonympha pqmphilus was captured, a female small 
and typical in colour, with ab. unicolur of its close ally C. satyrion. 
One specimen of this latter species had the eye-spots in the submargi- 
nal white band of the underside of the hindwings reduced to mere black 
dots. It was while boxing a specimen of this species that I became 
conscious of a hissing noise at my side. To my surprise on looking 
down, I saw a huge adder gliding away among the stones. One expects 
to see such reptiles in lowland areas, but not in a narrow isolated 
valley, where for nine months of the year the snow lies almost con- 
tinuously. I have never before seen an adder of so large a girth; unfor- 
tunately my spiked stick had been left in the road, so that all I could do 
was to hasten its departure instead of killing it. Colias phicomone was 
occasionally seen along the roadway, but was fairly common flying 
across the enclosed glacier basin where the sun shone bright and warm. 
One example taken, a female, had a very white hindmargin to the 
hindwings. “ Blues” were drinking at all the sunny moist patches, 
but only in small numbers. The race of Ayriades thetis was under- 
sized, as it often is, high up in the Alps. The specimens were in good 
condition ; one female had large spotting on the underside of the fore- 
wings, while the fringes of the males were not very distinctly chequered. 
No doubt they were only of the first brood, the opportunity at this 
elevation for a second brood being much too short.  Polyommatus 
icarus was very common, the females were well margined with orange. 
Here there seemed an evidence of two broods, for one set of specimens 
was in good condition while other specimens were much worn. It 
may have been that those taken nearer to Pontresina had emerged 
earlier than those taken nearer the glacier, which emerged later, but I 
did not note it at the time. I took a few Albulina pheretes in very good 
condition and very brilliant in colour. No females were taken, prob- 
ably they had not yet emerged. Aricta medou was present, mostly 
